Last Investigative Bible Study Of The Year

Tuesday night, 12/23/08, we will host the last investigative Bible study of the year. These past nine weeks have been great fun as we have gotten to know these new friends better and have studied God's word together and have sought to understand better who is Jesus and why did He come. Our journey through the Gospel of Luke has been fruitful and adventurous! This week things will climax with the resurrection of Jesus. Pray with us that God will cause the truth of His word to take root in their hearts and that God will bring them to a saving faith in Jesus Christ.

We have had on average 8-10 people participating in these studies. For four of them this is their first experience of any kind studying the Bible! Praise God for the privilege and thank you Dr. Beaudreau for the case of new NIV Portuguese Bibles. These guys went nuts over having their very own Bible!!!

We hope to continue a Bible study with these families after the first of the year that will focus on growing in Christ. This will be a key developmental opportunity as I have been training one of the Brazilian couples to take over the leadership of this study! Go God! Pray with us that God will continue to draw these people to Himself and will continue to give us this great privilege of collaborating with Him as He reconciles the world unto Himself!

P.S. We need more NIV Portuguese Bibles!

John's 8th Birthday!

What a blessing God has given us! Family and children are a blessing from God and each year is sweeter! Today John turned eight and we celebrated with a few of his friends.

As you can see by John's uniforms, he loves soccer. And he is really good if I do say so myself! He is a fierce competitor on the field and wonderful love bug at home.

Thank you Lord for John and the way you uniquely made, that he might bring glory and honor to your name! I pray that you will grow him into a godly man who would love you with all his heart and serve you all of his life!

(Click on the collage image to enlarge!)

A Great Day in the Life of Our Family and Church

O what a day it was! After all that our church and ministry have been through over the last several months we were so thankful to have a day of celebration and thankfulness! We came together as a family to celebrate God's faithfulness and goodness, to celebrate new lives in Christ, and to celebrate His gracious blessings as He works in and through us as his church. We also came together for rich fellowship and renewal of tattered relationships.


It was a special joy for Wendy and I as Emmi was baptized together with 10 other new members to our church. It was a wonderful celebration of new life and the promises of God. As you can see in the picture below each of the people shared a special word for them that captures what God has done for them. They shared such words as: Loved, Humility,Hope, Thanks, Freedom, Life, Brokenness, Joy, Love, and Transformation! Their testimonies were powerful and clear as to the great miracle God had done in their lives, making dead men alive!

Please join with us in prayer for these and the many other new Christians God has given us; that they might be made full and complete in Christ! Please continue to pray for our Church as God restores it and heals its wounds caused by the untimely and ungodly departure of three of our young Brazilian staff.

Emmi's Gymnastics Presentation

Earlier this year Emmi was recruited by a local gymnastics team to begin training for Olympic Gymnastics. She has been such a trooper as she has had to endure long three and four hour training sessions three-four days a week as well as a wonderful and perfectionist coach. That is quite a bit for a six year old. In all it has been a great compliment to Emmi's ballet.

She has made great friends and learned many new things! Her favorite things to do are cartwheels, back hand springs, hand stands, and back flips. She loves working on the trampoline. She also enjoys the floor exercise and the balance beam the best.

Great job Emmi! Well done!

(Click on collage image to see it enlarged!)

Emmi's Ballet Presentation

Never was there a prettier butterfly! We are so proud of Emmi. She has worked hard this year and loved every minute of it! She has become quite the ballerina if I do say so myself!

Her presentation was The Enchanted Forrest! Each age group and class played a different roll in the forest. Emmi's class were the beautiful butterflies!

It makes a moma and papa proud!

Happy Thanksgiving From Our Family to Yours

We are so thankful for each and everyone of you! Thank you for your prayers and for all your support! It is a real privilege to labor with you!

Amazed By His Grace!!!

Beginning A New Investigative Bible Study

Today we are beginning a new adult investigative Bible study. We ask your prayers as we will be doing this new study with the parents of staff and students from our campus ministry. We have been wanting to this for a long time and God has opened the door with several families this year for us to have a platform to open this study time. Ask God to open hearts and make the message clear about who is Jesus and what is He offering us through His gospel message and life.

We plan to meet each Wednesday night, starting tonight, in our home to study who is Jesus and why did He come from the Gospel of Luke.

We are excited about the opportunity and all that God will do through it! Thank you Jesus for open door and open hearts! We pray you will bring the Light and the Truth to each heart that attends!

Among The Most Dificult Of Times...

Hi, all. We have been wanting to communicate with you for the past few months but there’s been a lot taking place in our ministry and at times it has seemed difficult to know exactly what and when to communicate. In the past year, three of the American couples who were working with us here in Brazil have moved back to the States to pursue a new call of God on their lives. Their departures were difficult because of our friendships with them (and our childrens friendships with their children!) but we’ve known all along that God would not keep the original team here together forever. And we were confident as we watched them struggling through their desires to stay here that they were definitely hearing from God.

Then about a month ago, three of our Brazilian staff informed us of their decision to leave staff. Their reasons boiled down to some theological and philosophical differences with our ministry, as well as some misguided perspectives about ministry that were consuming their time and their hearts. In the same way as before, though we love them and feel God is leading them to something new, we feel a loss of our relationships with them. Their departure has also been complicated because, as they left the ministry, they also left the church and it left many students in our ministry confused as to whom they should “follow”. Our unequivocal answer has been that they should follow God and where they feel He is leading them. But we have been grieving personally in many ways because of how this has affected our relationships with the three who left staff and how it continues as some students struggle in how to relate to us, or to the three.

Pray for us, for our staff, for the Church, and for the students involved in our ministry. Pray for all the families that left staff, that God will direct each of them to the place He wants them to serve. Pray that each of the staff will look to God for significance instead of finding it in the “success” of their ministries. We have never been more grateful than we are now to have your support –emotional, prayer, financial, any way you can describe it – from each of you. We need your prayers. We need to know what is going on in your lives too! We see God working in deep ways here in Brazil. Please keep praying!

Beginning A New Adult Discipleship Group

As you know Wendy and I have been studying and growing with several core couples over the past couple of years. God has been faithful and true and we are starting two new studies to open things up for more people to grow and for the development of these developing leaders.

Our hope is to help the other adult member in our church to have a place to grow as a disciple of Jesus in community with leadership and shepherding. Should be a great time of growth for all!

Pray with us that God will solidify these new groups and these leaders will grow as we help them experience leading others as they grow in Christ.

These groups should start October 23rd and continue each Thursday night until Christmas!

Celebrating Denize's Wedding

We are so thankful for Denize and the special part she plays in the life of our family! May God richly bless her marriage and her new family!

Staff Stimulus 2008

This year Staff Stimulus was more important than ever! We have been going through a really difficult transition in the life of our team, church, and families. Three of our young Brazilian staff have decided to not only leave staff but the church as well. As you might imagine this has been an incredibly difficult time. Our hearts are crushed and torn as young men we've loved, nurtured, and trained have decided that they know better and desire something different.

We love them dearly and desire the best for them! We believe God will use it for His glory and the development of His Kingdom, but our hearts are dearly saddened. Thankfully God had providentially ordained that Rev. Barker and Dan Roberts would be here during this time to encourage, console, and lift up the team as we look forward to all that God wants and desires for us!

Thank you Jesus for your Great Love that covers us!

2008 Staff Team from Left to Right - Michelle & Anselmo Repolles, Raul & Vivi Pacheco, Rev. Frank Barker II, Dan Roberts, Kent & Jo Bailey, Demps & Kristy Dempsey, Fabiana, Priscilla Lima, Russell & Wendy Long, Zé Flávio & Cláudia, Diana, Jon & Tathiana Elam, Fabiana Batista, Wellington & Luiza Fraiha, Alan Andrioni

Happy 50th Wedding Anniversary June and Earl Collins

While Wendy was in the USA for her niece April's wedding she had the privilege to celebrate with her family something that would happen later in the year (December 13th) when they were not all together, her parents 50th wedding anniversary!

Wow! Praise God for His mercy and goodness in June and Earl's lives!

Thank you Jesus for special blessings we don not deserve!

Congratulations! Wendy's Niece April Got Married!

We are so thankful that Wendy was able to fly back to the USA for her niece April's wedding! Family is important and we were so glad that she could be with her whole family to celebrate this special event!

Thank you to all those who helped make this possible!

Happy 10th Birthday Levi!

Happy birthday Levi! We are so proud of you!

Levi has become quite the soccer fanatic. Not only does he play well, but he loves the game. He knows most of the players in the Brazilian, English, Spanish, and Italian Leagues. As you might guess his favorite thing to talk about is soccer, playing soccer, or watching soccer.

His second most favorite thing to do, not including pester his siblings, is play video games! And yes, you guessed it! His favorite video game is FIFA Soccerl. Oh well, what are you going to do?

We love you so much Levi and are so thankful for exactly how God made you! For the praise and Glory of the Lord!

Great Time in St. Louis, MO

What a special privilege it was for me to get to visit my brother Tony and his family in St. Louis. It was a wonderful time of renewing relationships and visiting with some of our supporters as well. So good to see all of you!

As part of my Staff Development I went to St. Louis, MO to take a class at Covenant Theological Seminary. What a blessing! I loved the class and Covenant! God used the whole experience to renew and encourage me deeply.

I took a class called Spiritual & Ministry Formation. It is geared toward helping people develop a biblical understanding of Christian growth and development. Part of the class was devoted to helping people identify & develop their Divine Design Statement. This was tons of fun! I really loved the stimulus and the tools! Dr. Philip Douglass is blessed by God in helping counsel people in this area! Thank you Dr. Phil!

I pray God will continue to help me understand my Divine Design and help others do the same for His glory and His renoun!

Emmi's Ballet Presentation

What a fun night of ballet! This was Emmi's first recital. She did so great! We were all so proud of her. Way to go Emmi!

Thank you to her friends who came out to support her in her ballet debut!

Men's Day Out Fishing

It doesn't get any better than this! A day out in the country fishing with your boys! We took advantage of Will Cunningham's visit to venture down to one of our favorite local fishing holes. It was a great time of fellowship, food, and Fishing!

Thank you Jesus for fishing! Seriously, thank you for these young men! I pray you will help us all love you and serve you with all our hearts!

Father & Son Combo

I love father & son activities so it has been so much fun for Luke and I as we have played tennis together. We both recently played in a local tournament where we did pretty well for our first tournament. The pictures at left are from the awards ceremony.

It was a great way for us to meet some new people and have the opportunity to share about the difference Jesus makes in our lives with them!

Pray with us that God would draw these children and families to Himself!

Pass It Forward!

With great excitement and sadness I would like to share one of the most difficult things that has happened this year. We are having to say good bye to three dear families that mean so much to us. The Lanes, the Dowdys, and the Lutzs have not only been staff partners, but special friends and family over these past nine years in Brazil.

Although we are excited they are following God's direction and plan for their lives, our hearts bear the loss of their daily presence and friendship for our whole family. Brian Lane is moving toward ministry in Atlanta, GA with FCA. Jeff Dowdy is returning to the university to get his masters with the hope to one day teaching at the university level. Jimmy Lutz is returning to the university to pursue a career in Dentistry!

We pray God's blessings and protection for them as they continue to seek God's direction and will for their lives and families! We have been deeply blessed through the lives of each of these men and pray God will bless many, many more through them in the years to come!

Happy 11th Birthday Luke!

Luke is becoming a very handsome young man. He is already having to beat back the girls. His doctors still think he will reach 6'5". I'm not sure but he already wears my shoes at eleven!

Luke has been enjoying tennis this year. He is developing into quite the little tennis player. So fun to watch them grow and develop!

He also has taken quite well to helping his mom with cooking. He loves to cook, pizza, spaghetti, pancakes, cookies, and bread! He likes cooking almost as much as eating!

We love you Luke! We are proud of you! Thank you Jesus for Luke and the unique way You made him to glorify and serve you! May Luke grow up to love you and serve with all his heart!

Together at Easter - Happy Easter!

Once again our church celebrated Easter in grand fashion! We gathered together to play, praise, and celebrate the precious gift of Jesus! What a difference Jesus makes.

If it were not for Jesus I would not be here today and I would not know any of these wonderful people that I am with. God's plans and purposes are far greater than our own! Thank you lord for your grace, love, and mercy!

Couple's Cook Out

One of our favorite things to do with our bible study group besides study the Bible is get together and cook-out Brazilian style! It is so much fun! Everyone pitches in and brings something.

The meat is divine! We had beef, pork, chicken, sausage, and fish. And you eat it as it comes off the grill! Of course the girls bring other stuff like salads and desserts, but who notices. Right!

A Wedding Like You've Never Known!

Sometimes a picture is worth way more than a thousand words!!!!!

Wendy and I helped one of our friends put on a wedding, at their farm, for a relative! Wow! What a blast!!!

Happy 6th Birthday Emmi!

What a joy it is to see your babies growing up! Today we celebrated our baby's 6th birthday! Wow! I can't believe it! Time truly does fly when you are having fun!

Emmi, my little princess, is developing into quite the gymnast. She has enjoyed both ballet and gymnastics over the past year and her mother wants her to be able to continue both! She really is talented at both. She was invited in gymnastics to join a special class for the gifted! It has been a real blessing for her physical and social development! She loves the interaction with the other little girls and loves the activity and work! As you can imagine it has also been a great outlet for the tons of energy with which God has blessed her!

She loves playing with her brothers and has become a master of pester! If they are doing anything she thinks it should revolve around her, so she works to make it that way. Most of the time her brothers are understanding and enjoy her involvement, but there does come a time when enough is enough! LOL!

I praise you Lord for your loving hand that has brought our family together from around the world to experience your love and care together! You show us so much about your love and care through our love for our children! Thank you for the many many special blessings!

Congratulations Cale and Leah Long On The Arrival of Hunter!

We are proud to announce the arrival of my great nephew Hunter Edward Long, born January 25, 2008 at 2:o8 PM EST in Charleston, SC, to my nephew Cale Long and his lovely wife Leah. We are so proud of them!



Hunter weighed in at 6 lbs. 11 onces, and measured 21 inches long. Mother and baby are doing well! Hunter has a bit of fluid still in his lungs and they are treating him for an infection, but all prognosis are good at this time!

My brother Scott Long and his beautiful wife Lisa are bubbling proud grandparents! They are traveling up to Charleston, SC from Powder Springs, GA to be with Cale and his family as I write this! Praise God!

Thank you for celebrating with us on this joyous occasion! May God bless them and direct their steps as they enter this new phase of life and family! And may God's grace and love fill their hearts and their home for His glory and our good!

Cookout In The Jungle

Arnaldo is one of my dearest friends here in Brazil. He and I have been seeking God together all year through God's Word, through serving others, and through our relationships! That's what makes this past Saturday so special!

Arnaldo invited me and my boys to come along with him on a day event he had planned to bring together his brothers and an old friend! Sure fun was part of his plan, but more importnantly was Arnaldo's desire for his brothers and friend to be drawn to Christ! It was great to see a young leader in action!



He had planned for everything! We had a great cookout, hiking, jungle games, and even some survival training! It was a blast! My boys and everyone else loved it! And throughout the day Arnaldo and I had the privilege of sharing our lives with them and how Jesus has and is changing us!

This is what its all about! Helping men take the light of Christ into the lost world! Thank you Jesus! Thank you that I have the privilege to do this along with Luke and Levi too! What a privilege!

Happy New Year!

People often ask us about the differences between living in the USA and Brazil. Holidays are one of those things! In the USA Thanksgiving and Christmas round out the big holiday season at years' end. In Brazil however we don't have Thanksgiving and it is New Years that is even bigger!

Christmas is a traditional time to spend with your immediate and close relatives, while New Years is a special time to celebrate with all your friends and family as only Brazilians can! A typical Christmas celebration starts at midnight the night of the 24th with a big supper followed by the exchanging of gifts and a party that lasts until the wee hours of the morning! New Years however may be a party that starts sometime around the 31st of December and goes on through the 1st of January.

This year the families from our small group ministry wanted to pass the new year together so they planned a New Years party that started on the 30th of December and went through the 2nd of January! It was great! What a blessing! We ate together, played together, camped together, ate together, worked together, hiked together, ate together, and we prayed together! Did I mention that we ate together! One wife commented that it seemed like we were eating something every few minutes! We even killed the "fattened pig" and ate that too! What a blast!



Thank you for your prayers and partnership this year! As you can see it has been amazing how God has worked in our lives and in the lives of those around us! Through your partnership men and women are being reached with the gospel and developed as disciples of Jesus Christ!

We are trusting God to raise up leaders from among these families who will help us shepherd and disciple other families! Some men are already beginning to lead, but it is a very important phase of development for the ministry among the families! Please be praying about this with us!